updated 09:35 am EST, Fri January 27, 2012

Claims company won't turn 'blind eye'

Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent out a long letter to workers in an attempt to respond to complaints about poor conditions at supplier factories, according to 9to5Mac. "As a company and as individuals, we are defined by our values," the letter begins. "Unfortunately some people are questioning Apple's values today, and I'd like to address this with you directly. We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don't care is patently false and offensive to us. As you know better than anyone, accusations like these are contrary to our values. It's not who we are.

"For the many hundreds of you who are based at our suppliers' manufacturing sites around the world, or spend long stretches working there away from your families, I know you are as outraged by this as I am. For the people who aren't as close to the supply chain, you have a right to know the facts," Cook continues.

"Every year we inspect more factories, raising the bar for our partners and going deeper into the supply chain. As we reported earlier this month, we've made a great deal of progress and improved conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers. We know of no one in our industry doing as much as we are, in as many places, touching as many people.

"At the same time, no one has been more up front about the challenges we face. We are attacking problems aggressively with the help of the world's foremost authorities on safety, the environment, and fair labor. It would be easy to look for problems in fewer places and report prettier results, but those would not be the actions of a leader.

"Earlier this month we opened our supply chain for independent evaluations by the Fair Labor Association. Apple was in a unique position to lead the industry by taking this step, and we did it without hesitation. This will lead to more frequent and more transparent reporting on our supply chain, which we welcome. These are the kinds of actions our customers expect from Apple, and we will take more of them in the future.

"We are focused on educating workers about their rights, so they are empowered to speak up when they see unsafe conditions or unfair treatment. As you know, more than a million people have been trained by our program.

"We will continue to dig deeper, and we will undoubtedly find more issues. What we will not do -- and never have done -- is stand still or turn a blind eye to problems in our supply chain. On this you have my word. You can follow our progress at apple.com/supplierresponsibility.

"To those within Apple who are tackling these issues every day, you have our thanks and admiration. Your work is significant and it is changing people's lives. We are all proud to work alongside you."

Critics, including former and even current Apple executives, have complained that the company has fallen short of steps that would force suppliers like Foxconn to fix issues with low pay, questionable safety, underage workers, and grueling hours. One former Apple executive has charged that despite the company's desire to enforce its supplier code of conduct, it has let business and secrecy goals prevent it from pushing for real change. A ex-Foxconn executive has claimed that Apple "never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost."

Apple keeps pushing

despite what others think Apple has pushed suppliers before others brought up issues. Low power consumption and smaller sizes Apple was pushing for before any "energy crisis" (They asked Intel if they could do a 60% smaller CPU to put in the original MacBook Air a full year before it was released and at the time Intel didn't think they could do it) Apple pushed suppliers to use safer materials and chose more recyclable materials (for at least some of their products) before Greenpeace brought up anything. Others talk about it, Apple does, maybe not as fast as others think it should happen, but they keep doing.